Identity Theft

INTRODUCTION Identify theft refers to any fraud that takes form of pretence to be someone else with a motivation of stealing money or to get any other benefits. The use of the term identity theft is actually a misnomer because it is difficulty to steal individual identity. One can only use identity theft but not really steal it. The main aim of identity theft is to gain individual identity in order to use it for monetary or any other benefit. On the other hand, an individual whose identity is stolen suffers negative consequences in different ways. Identity theft is a new crime in the world that has increased with the new technology. Many countries have specific laws which are aimed at making identity theft a crime but others are yet to put in place strict laws that make identity theft a crime.

a)

Problem background

Identity theft is a new form of crime having evolved from 1960s. Research shows that identity theft crimes have developed in line with new emerging technologies that had allowed exposure of personal details to the world. The problem has been aggravated by lack of coherent statistics until recent studies revealed the extent of the problem. Government reports in 1998 showed that there were no comprehensive statistical data which could reveal to the world the gravity of the problem (Stana, 2002). Recent reviews

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Identity Theft

also shows that statistical measures of identity theft is still faced by a number of problems which means there are cases of identity theft which are not reported. According to consumer reporting agency, the number of cases on identity theft has increased on daily bases. Data shows that increased penetration of technology has provided more room for identity theft thereby increasing prevalence of the problem. The recent statistics shows that 3.6 million households in U.S are affected (Merrill Lynch, 2010). Individuals have lost more than $3.2 billion due to identity theft. Identity theft is leading complaint that is filed with Federal Trade Commission (Merrill Lynch, 2010). In addition, statistics shows that businesses have lost more than $52 billion from identity theft while consumers lose more than $50 billion annually. In 2008, more than 9.9 million Americas were victims of identity theft which was an increase of 22% from 2007 (Finklea, 2010).

From the above statistics, it is evident that identity theft is a major problem that is affecting thousands of people in United States. It is not a problem that affects particular individuals in the society but everyone is in the trap. With technology encroaching into all spheres of our life, we are becoming more prone to identity theft and unless one takes preventative measure, one will always be a prime target for the crime. In addition, students are at an increased risk going by their trend in use of internet. More than any segment of the population, students have been shown to be leading consumers of internet technology. Congressional report shows that students are three times more likely to become victims of identity theft compared to the general population. This means that

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Identity Theft college students are at an increased risk of becoming targets of identity theft unless they take appropriate measures that cushions them from the crime. b) Purpose of study

Going by the trend in increased use of new technologies like online purchases, those who use these services are at an increased risk. Students, being leading consumers of internet technologies are at an increased risk. Problem background shows that students are three times more likely to fall victims to identity theft. Putting into consideration the vulnerability of students, it is important that students understand different ways through which they can prevent themselves from becoming victims of identity theft. The purpose of this study is to look into whether students are taking the appropriate strategies to avoid becoming victims of identity theft.

c)

Objectives of the study

(i) The following are the main objectives of the study: (ii) To explore the factors that contributed to students vulnerability to identity theft crimes (iii)To establish the prevalence of identity theft among students (iv) To explore different strategies employed by students to avoid becoming victims of identity theft (v) To establish the effectiveness of the strategies used by students d) Research question

The research question for the study will be: Are college students using preventive measures to keep them from becoming a victim of identity theft?

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Identity Theft LITERATURE REVIEW Identity theft describes any fraud in which an individual pretends to be another

person for the sake of financial exploitation or just to get any other benefits (Sara, 2006). The term identity theft could have been developed in the recent past but identity theft crimes have been recorded for a long time in criminal record books. However, the term identity theft started to be used more since 1960s with the advent of new technology (GAO, 2002). New technology, including the internet, has increased chances for identity theft since individuals are increasingly exposing their personal information over the internet while making online payment or through other processes (McFadden, 2007).

The incidences of identity theft have been on the rise since 1960s. However, there was no congruent data that could clearly show the trends in identity theft until 1980s when the government carried out systematic studies to asses the trends in identity theft. However, government statistics reveal that since 1980s, cases of identity theft have continued to increase. Between 1999 and 2000, the number of identity theft cases increased by more than 36%from 65,000 to 89,000 based on 7 year fraud alerts (GAO, 2002). Different researches gave conflicting results showing that there was need to carry out systematic research based on reported cases in order to establish the magnitude of the problem. Due to increased need for systematic recording, FTC set up FTC Clearinghouse which was mandated with the role of gathering and reporting cases of identity theft. In November 1999, FTC Clearinghouse reported about 445 average calls per week (Stana, 2002). In March 2001, the number of calls received at FTC Clearinghouse had increase to more than 2,000 per week and by December 2001 this had increase to more than 3,000

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Identity Theft

(GAO, 2002). In 2008, more than 9.9 million cases of identity theft were reported, which was a 22% increase from 2007 figures (Finklea, 2010). Recent statistics shows that 3.6 million households in U.S are affected. Individuals have lost more than $3.2 billion due to identity theft. Identity theft is leading complaint that is filed with Federal Trade Commission (Merrill Lynch, 2010). In addition, statistics shows that businesses have lost more than $52 billion from identity theft while consumers lose more than $50 billion annually. From this data, the government started realizing that identity theft was becoming a major problem that had to be dealt with.

Research reveals that although identity theft cuts across the social demography, there are groups which are at a higher risk than others (Pinter, 2007). Since risk increases with access to modern technologies like internet, groups which use internet more often are at an increased risk. In connection with this, students and other individuals between the age of 18 and 25 have been shown to be a higher risk of becoming victims of identity theft compared to the rest of the population (Kochavi, 2007). Most students fall within this age bracket. They are the leading consumers of modern technologies like internet. At this age bracket, Trade Commission posits that the risk of becoming victim to identity theft increase with a ratio of one to three (Kochavi, 2007). This means that students are thrice more likely to fall victims of identity theft compared to the rest of the population. A bulk of research work has looked at different dynamics of identity theft. Most researchers have concentrated on prevalence and impact of identity theft on different sectors of the economy and on different segments in the society. However, there is

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Identity Theft deficient research that looks into the different ways that can be employed by different groups to mitigate their risk. Strategies to be employed should be understood in different ways. In the backdrop of the fact that different groups are at varying risk, strategies employed to avoid becoming victims of identity should also be different. Most studies have looked at bracket strategies that can be used by every other victim. This study therefore is based on the need to developed appropriate strategies that can be used by

particular group like college students who are at an increased risk. The result of the study will be important as they will give tailor made strategies that college students can employ to mitigate their risk of becoming victims of identity theft instead of applying the bracket strategies which have not been quite effective.

METHODOLOGY a) Research design

Research design can be defined as the framework that guides the study. It is provide the ground that research validity can be assessed. This study will employ survey design which has been chosen due to a number of factors. First, survey design will provide the necessary framework to accommodate the high number of participants in the study. Survey makes it easy to cover all the participants within the stipulate time for the study. Survey design will also provide the researcher with an opportunity to interact with the participants and therefore understand more about the research getting important aspects of the research which cannot be captured in the data collection tools. b) Sampling

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Identity Theft The study will use simple random sampling. This will ensure that the study adheres to the required standards of accuracy and validity. Simple random sampling will give each and every subject a chance to participate in the study which means it will

reduce bias (Charmaz, 1983). The main population for research includes college students from all grade levels from freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. From this population, the study will randomly select 600 students to participate in the study. The large size of the population has been preferred in order to increase accuracy and validity of the data collected and reduces bias.

c)

Data collection tools

Data collection tool employed in a study is very important. It influences the accuracy and validity of the collected data and the results as well. Data collection tool must be congruent with the selected research design (Lewis-Beck, 1995). There are many factors to consider when selecting data collection tools but most important is depends with the nature of data to be collected. This research has a large sample of 600 participants. This means that the selected tool must be able to collect data from 600 participants within the stipulated time period. In consideration of the research design, the study has selected survey design. Therefore, self administered questionnaires will be the best for the study. Self administered questionnaires are selected over researcher administered questionnaires since the students can understand the contents and need of every question. Questionnaires have been chosen over other tools owing to a number of reasons. First questionnaires will make it easy to collect data from the large number of participants. This is because participant and

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Identity Theft pick the questionnaires and fill it out to return it later. This means many participants can be covered within one day. Questionnaires are cheap and will be processed within the limits of the funds available. Questionnaires are also likely to reduce biases error by giving interactive spaced between the researcher and the participants. Through this interaction, researchers will be able to assess attitudes and experiences of the study participants which are not likely to be covered in the study.

d)

Administration of data collection tool

The process of administration of data collection tools mainly involves data collection and the steps immediately before and after data collection. In this study the period of data collection will not exceed more than three months. Every questionnaire will have not more than 30 questions and it is expected to take about 30 minutes to administer. The process will take place in different steps. The first step will be drafting of the questionnaire and pre-testing it to ensure that it is perfect. The process of pretesting questionnaire will take place in a population with similar characteristics to the selected population. After the questionnaire has been pre-tested, necessary corrections will be made. The next step will involve seeking permission from the administration to carry out the study in the school. This will ensure that all procedures set out by the administration for carrying out research in the school are adhered to. The next step will be selection of participants. A poster will be posted on the college notice bond informing the students of the impending research and calling for their participation. Participants will be randomly selected from the school population. They will be asked to give their consent to participation the study and after their consent, they will be asked to pick up a

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Identity Theft questionnaire, fill it out, and return within two days. After return of the question, the

study will the post thank notes to each and every participants and assure them that will be given results of the study.

e)

Data Analysis

Through the questionnaire, the study will collect both qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data will have to be coded to make it easy and legible for analysis. All data collected will be analyzed using statistical tools like mean, average, percentages, and other methods. f) Limitations of the study

There are some of the limitations for the study which include: (i) Difficulty in getting the targeted 600 participants (ii) Student taking the research serious

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Identity Theft 10

References

Charmaz, K. (1983). Ground theory method: An application and interpretation. Boston: Little Brown and Company Finklea, K. (2010). Identity Theft: Trends and issues. Congressional Research Services GAO, (2002). Identity Theft: Prevalence and cost appear to be growing. United States General Accounting Office Report to Congressional Requesters Kochavi, A. (2007). Students at risk for identity theft. Retrieved 31st March 2010, from http://cornellsun.com/node/23948 Lewis-Beck, M. (1995). Data analysis: An introduction. Sage Publishers McFadden, L. (2007). Detecting identity fraud. Oxford University Press Merrill Lynch, (2010). Identity theft and fraud. Retrieved 31st March 2010, from https://www.fs.ml.com/publish/public/privacy_security/identity_theft_and_fraud/i dentity_theft_and_fraud.asp Pinter, R. (2007). Identity related crimes. Sage Publishers Sara, M. (2006). Identity theft. Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

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Identity Theft 11 Stana, M. (2002). Identity theft. Retrieved 31st March 2010, from http://www.policyalmanac.org/crime/archive/identity_theft.shtml

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